Point of Oblivion
by micki.mackenzee
Summary: She is helplessly a girl, and hopelessly a woman. She is her greatest enemy, the cause of all her problems. She laughs, she cries, and she runs away. She is impossible, and to him she is impossible not to love.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Corner:**_ This isn't the first fanfic that I've written, but this is the first one that I've posted and really planned on putting all my effort into. This fic is going to be rated M, so be aware of the coming scenes and themes associated with such rating. I don't own anything but the burdens on my back. This will be mostly canon. All in all, I really hope you enjoy this story. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter One - Some Nights**

_"Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck_  
_Some nights I call it a draw_  
_Some nights I wish that my lips could build a castle_  
_Some nights I wish they'd just fall off"  
_FUN. - Some Nights

* * *

Life had dealt some pretty shitty hands thus far.

Despite her misfortune, she always found her way through the just as shitty rounds. But, in doing so she only found herself growing more and more bitter, finally succumbing to a complete comatose of callousness. Perhaps she was just given a terrible deck, therefore she would get these bad hands the rest of her life. Perhaps she was just young, and stupid; she didn't have the proper experience to know how to come out on top. Perhaps she had already chosen her track, and was destined to this way of life.

"Perhaps I should just hide away," The girl spat, shaking mud off of her shoes.

With a thump, her shoe flew off her foot landing upside down in a mud puddle.

"Forever."

Hopping her way to the doorstep, she hid under the tiny awning, she beat the excess raindrops from her umbrella and gingerly tapped the rest of the mud off her faithful shoe. Looking through the downpour, she decided that she could sacrifice her other sneaker. Past her runaway shoe, she noticed that the car was in the drive way. She hadn't realized that Daniel was going to be home this early. She mentally cursed herself, there was nothing put down for dinner.

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to be home," She called, dropping off her jacket and umbrella by the door. She looked down at her scrubs, wiping off stains she could and tucked away the ones she couldn't. She took a step forward, but decided that it was best to empty out her pockets now. Mostly used tissues, but beneath the mountain of plush paper she pulled out her badge.

Void badge, now.

Thumbing the plastic, she grimaced at the bad picture and the glaring red line though her access barcode. _They could have just told me not to come back._

As the thunder rolled, she ambled through the short hallway looking for Daniel. She didn't really have that big of a search to begin with, seeing as it was a one bedroom home with an adjoining kitchen, dining room, and living room combination. She wasn't the least surprised when she found Daniel lounging in his comfy chair, nursing a beer. His sixth, if the pile of cans was any indication of his count for the night.

He sat, completely captivated by the football game in progress.

She could tell that he had an easy day at work, just by the simple fact that he was still in the same clothing he had left in that morning, with no tears or materials stuck to the cloth. By the worsening storm outside, she figured that the days work had been halted until more favorable conditions came about, when construction work was actually an option. She gazed at Daniel with curiosity, normally on days where the team was sent home early he brought his work buddies with him. Even though Daniel grimaced at their quaint home, he was always finding ways to bring his buddies back to enjoy an evening of sports and beer. By the expression on his face, though, she could tell that he didn't even want her to be around, let alone a group of his buddies. While others looked at Daniel and saw a grumpy man with a cruel expression, she had seen past that and learned his ways. Sometimes he was happy, sometimes he wasn't.

"Hey, who's playing?" She asked, skirting around the inevitable. This was going to be the third time this year she had been laid off of work, and the past two times Daniel hadn't been entirely understanding. Judging from his current state, she decided that now wasn't the time.

She sat down on the tattered love seat next to him, pulling her hair out of the tight bun previously holding captive to her tightly rung curls. Finger combing through the ringlets, she decided that she was actually starting to enjoy her hair. Had she done the same thing a month ago, you would have found her doing her best to hide the hideous mistake that was a free perm. She had always hated her pin straight black hair. On the rex they all worked in the same few places, all lived in the same type of homes, and all had very similar futures. The last thing that she wanted to do was look the same as everyone else. Between trips to Forks, watching her favorite shows, and reading through her drugstore magazines she had grown envious of the beautiful curls she saw. When her best friend Anne earned her cosmetologist licensee, she had been Anne's first real perm. Anne had offered it to her for free, seeing as it was experimental. Who was she to pass up a free service?

Daniel had laughed at her every chance he could get.

Thankfully, the curls had loosened up quiet a bit since, and now her hair was at least close to what she had wanted.

Daniel threw his beer to the rug, spilling out the remaining contents. "Damn it." He muttered, kicking the can as he grabbed another one from the 24 pack to his right.

She picked up her feet to avoid the spread of the liquid, glancing to the TV. From what she could tell, Jacksonville was playing Indianapolis, and Jacksonville had just won the game.

"Missed the fucking field goal," Daniel growled kicking his pile of cans around the living room. "We lost to the God damn Jags."

"There's always the rest of the season," she offered, picking up the cans mindful of his foot.

Daniel huffed, and stomped over to the kitchen. He opened up the fridge with disappointment. She winced, when she realized that she hadn't had time to stock the fridge either.

"What are we having for dinner?" He called, agitation clear in his voice.

"I was just going to have a sandwich. I didn't know that you were going to be home yet." She replied, careful to keep a positive tone. She wasn't looking for a fight, and if Daniel was itching for one he was going to have to argue with himself.

"Well, that's just fucking great."

Daniel chugged down the rest of his beer, shuffling back to the living room for another. He popped the tab, as he threw the empty can to the ground. She sighed, shaking her head. Plopping back in his recliner, Daniel shut off the TV and surveyed the room. As she put the cans in the kitchen trash, she tensed as he slammed his can on the side table.

"You got fired. Again."

His accusatory tone had been bad enough, but when he stomped back to their bedroom, she sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. Making her way slowly back to him, she paused as he marched back to kitchen grabbing a trash bad before returning to the bedroom. This was new.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her brows furrowing as he threw her clothing into the bag.

"What am I doing?" He laughed, stingingly. "What are you doing that you can't even keep a job?"

She opened her mouth in an attempt to explain. It really wasn't her fault this time. The local doctors office had to downsize, and seeing as she was the new nursing assistant, she had gotten the boot before any of the other veteran employees. It really wasn't her fault.

"Look, can it. I don't want to hear it. I'm sick and tired of supporting your lazy ass. You can't hold a job, and you can't keep a house. You don't cook, you don't clean. You don't do anything but sit around when you're home." He grabbed up the bag, slinging it over his shoulders as he grabbed onto her arm, pulling her towards the front of the house. She was sure that he could hear her mumbling under his breath, _Thank God I didn't marry her_.

"I don't care where you go, just don't come back."

Pulling the front door open, Daniel shoved her through the entryway out into the pouring rain. Instantly, she could feel her socks soaking through and her hair starting to stick to her scalp. Their neighbors had just arrived home, and by the looks of it, they were having a party. The woman glanced over with sadness in her eyes. The boys beside her stared blankly, unsure of how to react in situations like this.

Pulling her shoulders back, gathering up what dignity she had left, she glowered over at Daniel. "You're an asshole, you know that, Daniel?" She yelled over the rain, venom seething through her words.

He threw the trash bag to her feet, and shook his head. "And you're a a worthless bitch, Ruth."

With the slamming of the door, she picked up her belongings, careful to keep the mud off her back. The neighbors were still looking over her way, or at least some of them. She could tell that the group of boys had already moved inside, shoving and and carrying on into the home. With her head held high, Ruth walked out of the yard, making her way towards the local grocery store. She could at least seek shelter there for the time being while she figured out where she was going to sleep that night.

Ruth shook her head. _Another bad hand. _She hoped with all her might that life wouldn't laugh at her as she was forced the fold.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Corner:**_ Alright, I had this chapter already typed up so I thought that I would just post it. I have half of the third chapter finished, and I'm going to post that on Friday. (At least I hope to, haha.) Again, I own nothing and reviews would be appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter Two - Point of No Return**

_It's only half past the point of no return_  
_The tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn_  
_The thunder before the lightning and the breath before the phrase_  
_Have you ever felt this way?  
_PINK - Glitter in the Air

* * *

Emily Young grimaced at the sight before her. She had seen her neighbor plenty of times, whether it was coincidentally stopping by their mail boxes at the same time, catching glimpses of the woman walking around the reservation, or just the simple fact that at one point or another there were destined to meet seeing as they were living next to each other. She could remember the first time they met, when Ruth brought over tray of fruit when Emily first moved into the home years prior.

Yes, she had seen her countless times, but she had never seen this side of the neighbor woman's life. Emily felt guilty for stopping to watch the scene, but the guilt soon faded away as she felt disgust when looking upon the man. She rarely had any interaction with Ruth's significant other, Daniel. There had been many occasions where she begged Sam to go over, and complain about the mans late night parties, especially on game days. Sam would always quietly remind her that her house had turned into a make-shift frat house, and the neighbors probably had complaints of their own.

Wincing at the heated words exchanged from the seemingly now ex-couple, Emily began to turn to Sam, to insist that he invite her over for dinner. She had pans upon pans ready and warming in the oven for dinner. The boys could spare a little bit of lasagna, easily. As she opened her mouth, Sam shuffled toward his group of wolves. From what Emily could see, the two youngest were blocking the door way, linking arms and seemingly bracing themselves for impact.

"Shit…" Sam mumbled, forcing his way through the pups.

Emily looked back at Ruth, sighing as she the young woman walked her way down the street, rain pouring through her hair. Emily was sure that she could see her shoulders rising and falling ever so slightly, silent tears escaping. Hearing a crash from inside, Emily brought her attention back to her boys. Another crash, and a string of curse words echoed from Sam, and Jared.

"Sam! What's going on?" Emily shoved her weight against Collin and Brady, attempting what her fiancee had just done, her efforts coming up fruitless.

"Stay out there, Em!" He ordered.

While Collin and Brady were still young, at least in her eyes, she could barely see past their shoulders. They had first phased when they were very young, barely 13 at the time, but as the years went by their bodies not only filled out for their age but the wolf genes set in even more. Stepping on her tip-toes, Emily was able to catch a glimpse of the scene in her living room past the sixteen year olds shoulders. From what she could see, Sam and Jared were restraining Paul with all their might, with Sam whispering into Paul's ear attempting to calm the raging wolf. His skin was shaking and seething, transformation unavoidable at this point.

As Paul lashed out with another guttural growl, he shook Jared off his right side throwing the Beta onto Emily's coffee table as if he was featherweight. Emily was unable to keep the sigh from escaping her lips, she had just bought new that lamp and now she was going to have to replace almost everything in her living room.

"Don't worry Em, we'll make you a new one." Collin grinned, looking over his shoulder, attempting to lighten the situation.

Emily curved her lips briefly, before her frown quickly returned, full of worry. "What's going on?"

"Oh, he just found his soul mate." Collin replied over Sam barking Alpha orders to Paul to _calm down_, uncharacteristically casual for the situation. Emily raised an eyebrow as her home continued to receive the senseless beating.

"His eternal love," Brady added.

"His 'Mrs. Right'."

"The one who the ancestors have decided for him to have liters, upon liters of puppies with." Collin chuckled, as Jared and Paul continued to struggle against the flailing man.

"How romantic," Brady countered.

Emily grew confused, exquisitely remembering the day that Sam had imprinted on her, on top of the recalled memories of Jared, Quil, and Jake imprinting. While all the men had felt catastrophically different, the main reaction was universal. All four of the wolves had stood statuesque, star stuck by the one who now held their heart and soul. The expression was so recognizable, Emily had instantly realized when Quil set eyes on her niece, and immediately grabbed a hold of the toddler. Paul had always been the hot-headed one of the group, but she was having trouble understanding what had sent him so over the edge. Although, if Sam had witnessed any one treating her the way that Daniel had just treated Ruth , Emily imagined that his reaction would be one in the same.

"You should help them," Emily decided, releasing a breath of relief as Jared and Sam straddled Paul to the ground before he found his way to the kitchen.

"We are," Collin assured the Alpha's imprint, "We are the line of defense if Sam and Jared happen to pussy out."

"In reality, we have a bigger job than the precious Beta." Brady continued, sending a mischievous look towards Jared, who responded with a middle finger. He promptly returned the single finger gesture, only to report back to his 'defensive' position.

"We stand between Paul and the possibility of him mauling a human, giving away the tribes secret, and running off his imprint for good." Collin nodded.

"Plus, we're really protecting you too, which goes to show how immensely important our job was."

"We were protecting the Alpha's imprint!"

"His entire world!"

"His backbone."

"His source of nourishment."

"And yours," Emily laughed, poking the boys in the ribs.

"Jesus, Mary, Joseph… Shut up!" Jared groaned. Upon receiving a threatening look form Sam, Jared peered over Collin and Brady, adding, "Of course, that's not to you, Em."

"Emily, can you call Sue? With her being on the council we can at least make sure the girl has somewhere to stay without seeming too nosey." Sam requested, looking back at her.

Emily nodded to, pulling out her cell phone.

This somewhat calmed Paul. While he was no longer hell bent on destroying everything and everyone who stood between him, him imprint, and the asshole who treated his imprint wrong, he still held the scowl on his face. Pushing against Sam and Jared to let him go. They were unconvinced of his calmness.

* * *

"Ruth Williams, why are you walking around with no shoes?"

Sue Clearwater had been dropping off a pan of potato casserole at Jacob Blacks home, currently the headquarters for their small pack. The entire pack was out on 'pack business' as Billy had put it, but promised that he would keep a close eye on the dinner. It was by chance that she had decided to take the long way around the reservation, and it was by chance that she had driven past the barefoot girl, walking down the road in a fierce storm signaling that winter was fast approaching. The sight was was a sad sight to see indeed, especially since she had practically watched her grow up, having been a classmate of Seth's.

She really didn't know much of the girl, but one didn't have to know an entire backstory to be aware of someone in such a small community. Also, considering that Ruth had moved onto the reservation, she had gotten plenty of attention from being the new girl on the block. From what she could remember, Ruth was a very outgoing girl, enjoying her time with other people rather than being cooped up in the tiny school. She was always flying from one thing to another, unable to keep her attention on a certain thing for an extended amount of time. Ruth wore a smile, and she wore it well.

The girl that Sue had once known was not the girl standing before her. The tear streaks on her face, with smudged mascara running alongside had only confirmed something was wrong.

"It's nothing, Mrs. Clearwater." Ruth assured her, unable to keep her voice from wavering.

Sue exhaled, shaking her head as she was about to protest, only to be interrupted by a ringing phone. Hoping to see a call from her son, or daughter, Sue was slightly disappointed when Emily Young's name was displayed on the screen. She loved the young woman, but when a mother wants to talk to her children no one else would come up to par. Silencing the phone, Sue looked back to Ruth only to discover that she had started walking further down the road.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sue inquired, pulling up beside Ruth yet again. "You and I both know that this road is an empty road, leading out to Forks, with nothing and no one between."

"Look-"

"Nope, now you listen here, I don't know what you're doing or where you're going, but I'm going to give you a ride." Sue nodded her head, reaching over to open the passenger side door to Ruth. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

Ruth bit her lip before caving into the older woman, climbing into the car.

* * *

Jared huffed an exasperated sigh. They had lost her scent. Behind him stood his tired Alpha, and a frantic Third. Jared was completely hung up on the odd sight before him, for he could recall time and time again where Paul had declared that if he ever imprinted, _if_ he imprinted, that he wouldn't give a damn about ancestral traditions. He scoffed at Sam, and turned his chin up to Jared. He believed that Quil was a sick fuck, as he eloquently phrased, and decided that after Jake imprinted on the half human, half vampire child that the imprinting business was unnatural, and was not what the elders cooked it up to be.

Sam and Jared had held both their breath and their tongues, waiting for this very day so that Paul would truly begin to understand. There was a chance that Billy and Quil Sr. had been wrong about imprinting. It wouldn't be the first time they were mistaken. Perhaps imprinting was just a part of being half wolf that the boys, and Leah, would have to deal with. Then again, with their numbers rising as time went on, maybe it was just the odds catching up to them.

Jared kept a smile hidden, remembering how indigent Kim had felt when she learned that the other wolves were imprinting, and it didn't seem to be as select as they had once thought. Though she would never udder a word of it, Jared's mate had felt a sense of smugness. She thought herself as a honored member of the tribe, someone specially chosen to be apart of the secret society. She had only spoken her beliefs to Jared once, but Jared was sure that after Jacob had imprinted on Nessie, proving that one didn't even have to be Quileute to be chosen had put a damper on her supremacist beliefs. Now, with Paul imprinting on Ruth Williams, that just proved that you didn't have to even be above average to be claimed by a wolf. Kim was sure to be at a loss over this new development.

"Well, just throw it all to hell." Sam trotted over to the bushes as he began to strip. "We have another one about to phase. I can feel it. Take care of this." Sam directed to Jared.

Nodding soberly, Jared grew saddened. While he loved his brothers, he was devastated to learn that another unknowing soul had entered, had been forced into this way of life. Looking over to Paul, Jared walked his way over to him as he clapped his palm on the back of his neck. The rain had died down, but the winds were howling just as fiercely. " Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine."

Paul grunted, eyes scattering around the reservation. His mind was flying by at a mile a minute, worry encased in each and every thought. His biggest fear was that she had attempted to make the journey to Forks. The two towns weren't really too far away from each other if one was driving a care, but that walk wasn't ideal in a pre-winter storm. Hearing a howl rip through the skies, Jared and Paul tore their gaze to the East, sure that Sam was already there to corral their newest brother.

"I'm going to call Emily and see what she knows." Jared pulled out his phone, going to make the call.

Paul could hear him talking softly in the background, picking up on not only his words but Emily's. He had heard her say that she finally got through to Sue, who let her know that she had picked up Ruth, driving her to Forks. Without a seconds hesitation, Paul flew off in the direction of the tiny town completely determined to find his imprint, and see to her welfare unable to ignore his wolf's demands. He decided that he wasn't going to speak to Ruth, not ever. Even if he wanted an imprint, which he didn't, he wasn't going to make Ruth Williams his mate. He couldn't stand the type of girl that she was, and besides his selfish wants, it was clear that she had plenty of problems of her own to sort through before she could even deal with his mess of a world.

And despite all that, those thoughts disappeared as quickly as they had came about, and her name was all he could comprehend.

Paul had heard Jared calling for him, cursing as he shoved the phone back in his pocket. "Can't we at least take my car?"

* * *

"Mom, you can't just do that!"

Sue had been thoroughly confused when she was greeted by the canine family reunion on her porch. Both of La Push's packs had gathered, with Sam, Jacob and Leah in the backyard taking care of their newest member. From what she could tell, she had done something wrong, but not wrong enough for them to stop eating the dinner that had somehow found it's way back to her house after dropping it off to Billy Black's home. All of the boys, Black and Uley pack with no discrimination, held forks as they pigged out stuffing their faces sans plates.

"And you can't just bring every wolf to my front door without telling me first." Sue replied sternly, leveling her son with one look.

"Hey, I'm bringing everyone over." Seth threw his arm over his shoulder roughly, gesturing towards all the young men around her. She knew each and every one of them. Some she knew better than the others, and could tell when one was bothered, which brought her gaze onto Paul. He was beside himself, surrounded by a could of torment. His eyes gazing for the next thousand miles, unblinking.

"Don't give me that," Sue warned, unsparingly unamused by her sons comment. "Why was I not allowed to help that poor girl out? She poured her heart out to me, and I think that the best thing was to help her get out of town."

All eyes were brought to Paul as a whimper escaped his lips. Any one could see that he had completely lost himself to the wolf, and the needs of his other half. Leaning his head on his hand, Paul shook his head, and went back to his endless gaze.

"How far out of town did you send her?" Paul questioned, defeated in tone and words. He had in utter confusion when he had lost her scent again in Forks, but with this new development, Paul understood, leaving him in utter despair.

A silence engulfed the group, give of take the muted chewing coming from the meal in progress

"She told me that she had family at the Hoopa reservation-"

"You sent her to California?" Seth interrupted, gawking at his mother.

"Yes, I sent her to California."

"You sent my imprint to California."

Sue gasped as the realization of her actions hit her. Emily hadn't told her anything of the sort, just that Ruth was having a a rough time and to make sure that she was taken care of. Sue had done just that, at least in her eyes. Ruth had told her of every struggle, from her grandmother being put into Hospice care, and all her issues with Daniel, to her losing her job that day. The poor girl was going to walk to the bus station, to catch a coach to California to meet up with her mother. Sue had thought that paying for her ticket, and making sure she had money in her pocket once she arrived was the right thing to do. Her well intentioned actions, full of love, now put a strain on the pack. As if they needed more stress.

"I'm so sorry Paul," Sue said softly, reaching out her arm to the injured man in front of her. "I'm sorry, honey."

Paul nodded, grateful that Sue had made sure she arrived to her destination safely. If safe was the best he could hope for at this point, then he would take that.

Leah ran to the porch, unable to keep her excitement contained. _They had a new sister,_ and underneath all the fuss of a new female wolf, Paul could hear Jacob and Sam arguing fervently, that no, the Cullen's couldn't just pack up and move, but it was too bad because Sam wasn't going to the Alpha of a pack of infinite size because those leeches didn't give a damn about anyone else but themselves.

Surely this had been a night full of new happenings, and surely this was only the tip of the ice berg.


End file.
